In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Dominican Republic swine population suffered from an outbreak of the African Swine Fever, a debilitating disease that kills hogs. Back during the administration of President Antonio Guzman (1978-1982), the outbreak was so severe that the government dictated the elimination of the entire porcine population of the Dominican Republic. However, despite intense government efforts, hogs were hidden, and some survived, but most of the pork today consumed in the DR is imported from the United States.
Eventually, the Swine Fever epidemic was controlled, and the repopulation of the pig population with imported hogs was a success.
Since that time, there have been localized outbreaks, generally speaking, in small operations, and the government has been successful in controlling the spread of the disease. The issue is explained as there are no controls in Haiti and this has an impact on small hog farmers in the Dominican Republic who do not have the controls of the larger operations.
However, the recent announcement of an outbreak in Spain, where the fever is endemic, has caused the Ministry of Agriculture’s Livestock director to suspend the import of all pork products from Spain. It should be noted that Spain is the European Union’s largest producer of pork and pork products.
While the Dominican Republic is not a major importer of pork meat from Spain, just about US$800,000 in the first ten months of 2025, it is a major importer of processed pork, with items like Iberian smoked hams and chorizos very prominent items. Most imported pork meat comes from the United States.
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Diario Libre
Listin Diario
The Caterer
8 December 2025